The Vakarians
by jhoom
Summary: Series of one-shots about the lives of Garrus, Shepard and their two adopted sons after ME3. Based on two OCs. My story "Shepard's Son" fits in with these one-shots.
1. Meeting the Family

**AN:** This story is not really a cohesive story. It's just a series of one-shots - not necessarily in chronological order - that go through the lives of Garrus, Shepard and their adopted children after ME3. Admittedly, most of the stories will be fluff. My story "Shepard's Son" fits in with these one-shots. This particular chapter was a masskink meme fill.

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><p><strong>Meeting the Family<strong>

The main deck of the Normandy was virtually silent. Everyone had already been dropped off at the Citadel days ago for shore leave. There was only a skeleton crew on board, none of whom were anywhere to be seen. The sound of the elevator opening and little feet running across the floor seemed to boom in the emptiness left by the absent crew.

"Jason!"

The boy froze mid-step. _Uh-oh… "Commander" voice…_ the boy thought as he turned and walked back to the woman still standing in the elevator. He looked up at his mother, Commander Jane Shepard, first human Spectre and blah blah blah. The boy wasn't really interested in any of that stuff. He'd heard it, but the words were mostly meaningless to him. Really, she was just his mom. The other stuff just meant everyone else thought she was as important as he did.

While he looked up at her, arms on her hips and a scowl on her face, he couldn't help but smile. Honestly, she was the worst actress.

Seeing the boy's smile, Shepard sighed and rolled her eyes in exasperation. The kid already had her figured out. Great. Usually the annoyed scowl stopped an adversary in their tracks and had them dropping their weapons and raising their hands in surrender. But leave it to a six-year-old to render that look completely useless.

She took a step out of the elevator and put her hand on the boy's shoulder, leading him towards the galaxy map. They stopped just beside it and she gently turned him around. He looked up at her expectantly.

She sighed again and knelt in front of the kid, now both hands on his shoulders. "Now, soldier," she said, "you remember your briefing?"

Jason nodded eagerly. He loved it when she treated him like part of her crew. "Yes ma'am!"

"Good work, soldier. Now just remember," she took her hands off the boy's shoulders and held up one finger, "Look them in the eye." She held up another finger. "Be polite and do as you're told." She held up a third finger. "And _please_ do not beat up your cousins."

The boy nodded, his earlier excitement leaving and a nervousness replacing it. Jason didn't like this at all. At first he'd been intrigued when his parents said he was going to be meeting his grandparents and cousins this week. Then he was confused – why did he need more family besides the Normandy crew? And then he was nervous – what if they didn't like him? But instead of telling his parents any of this, he'd just been quiet. He didn't want to upset his dad by saying he didn't want to meet his family.

Speaking of which… "Where's Dad?"

"He's gone ahead to meet them. We'll see him when we get there."

"Right."

Shepard could tell the boy was nervous. Hell, why wouldn't he be? Meeting your grandparents and cousins was something most kids did so young that they didn't even remember doing it. _Oh the joys of being adopted,_ she thought sourly. _She_ was worried. They hadn't exactly warmed up to _her_ the first time she'd met them.

"Will they like me?" The boy was wringing his hands and fidgeting slightly.

Her heart just about broke hearing him say that. "Your grandma is a very sweet woman, I don't think she dislikes _anyone_. But she doesn't talk a whole lot since she's sick. Just because she's quiet doesn't mean she doesn't like you." Shepard had learned that the hard way. "Your aunt will like you and your cousins probably will too." Or at least they'll be polite enough to pretend. She didn't want to mention his grandfather. She was sure the old Turian still didn't like _her_ and it'd been how many years?

The boy just nodded, though didn't look very comforted.

She thought a moment, then added, "Sweetie, if they don't like you, it's not really your fault." She hadn't said anything to him before because she didn't want to make him more nervous, but she felt she'd better warn him. He was mature for his age, and she had no doubt he could handle it. The boy had picked up more of her habits and mannerisms, and it didn't help that he was so... human.

He seemed to think about that for a minute. "Does that mean that if they _do_ like me, that's not really my fault, either?"

She didn't answer immediately. Damn kid always stumped her. But she was saved from having to answer when he laughed. She raised an eyebrow at him quizzically.

"Dad says you only make that face when I'm around and I've _really_ got you."

Shepard couldn't help but laugh. "Hey kid, I wouldn't get _too_ cocky about that. I'm sure your dad has – quite unintentionally – stumped me on a few occasions. And you remember Uncle Grunt? I'm sure some of his questions when he was a kid got some interesting reactions outta me."

He gave an open-mouthed grin, showing two gaps where baby teeth had recently fallen out. Adorable. If only the Reapers had known that her one weakness was little kids who would need braces soon. She wouldn't have stood a chance.

She stood up. "You know, if things go well today, we might end up staying the whole summer on Palaven."

Jason made a face. Great, she'd made him nervous again. "Why?" he practically whined.

"Because your father wants you to get to know his family. It means a lot to him. And he so rarely asks us to do anything for him." The boy sulked under the guilt trip. She let him soak it in for a second. She'd had the same guilt trip given to her by Garrus – no reason not to share. "So, please, Jason," she said when she felt he'd had enough time to think about it, "Just be good and be yourself. If they give you half a chance they'll love you by the end of the day."

The boy was practically beaming at his mother's praise as they exited the Normandy, waving good-bye to Joker, all worries forgotten.


	2. Jealous?

**Jealous?**

Jason Vakarian sighed in annoyance. He normally didn't do interviews. He _hated_ interviews. But Emily Wong was the unofficial reporter of the Shepard-Vakarian family, and it was a courtesy he allowed every few years. But it was still a little odd answering these very personal questions posed by a woman who was basically his mother's age.

"We're here with our favorite up-and-coming human Spectre, Jason Vakarian, for an exclusive interview."

Jason couldn't help make a face at this introduction. Not even a minute in and Wong had already dropped the word "Spectre" and the name "Vakarian." He suspected "Shepard" and "Reapers" wouldn't be far behind. And Ms. Wong didn't disappoint. She asked the usual questions about how it felt to be one of the youngest Spectres, how much his mother had influenced his career choices, what it was like having two Spectres for parents, blah blah blah.

He'd heard all the questions before, but grinned slightly to himself when he noticed that she - unlike so many other reporters - carefully sidestepped the word "adopted." He knew that probably had to do with his mother, who might have actually shot Emily Wong had she decided to bring it up or even allude to it. Or, as his brother had said during their vid chat last week, "Mom would eat Wong's face." Even though it was _completely_ obvious that both he and his brother were adopted (I mean, _really_ obvious), she always got angry whenever other people brought it up. The rest of them didn't really understand her defensiveness about it.

_"They're my sons. Biology has nothing to do with it." A slight pause. Just long enough for Garrus to roll his eyes. "It's none of their damn business, anyway."_

There was only one question she asked that really surprised him. But it wasn't really the question itself that bothered him. He'd been asked it before. Lots of times. He just hadn't expected it from _her._ He'd done interviews with her as a kid - the very few interviews his parents allowed him to do - and she'd never asked questions that actually made him think and had never tried to get a rise out of him.

"Your younger brother, Remus Shepard, has matched you medal for medal, commendation for commendation in his exemplary military career with the Alliance. It's even rumored that he's being considered for the Spectres. Even though you have very similar records, he's had to achieve all this with the stigma of being a Turian in the Alliance, which has lead several of his supporters to claim him to be the _superior_ son of your parents. Any comment on this? Has this created any tension between you two? Any hostility or jealousy?"

Wong knew her shit, that was for sure. A heated outburst got higher ratings, and she seemed skilled at knowing which buttons to push. Unfortunately, she missed all of Jason's.

He just laughed, genuinely amused. "Jealousy? You know, there's only _one_ thing I'm jealous of him about. Wanna know what it is?" Wong leaned in close, surprised by the congenial reaction and tone but intrigued. She nodded, barely able to mask her curiosity. He leaned in slightly himself like he was telling some big secret. "The bastard isn't allergic to _anything."_

Emily Wong just stared at him dumbfounded as Jason laughed again. "What?" she managed. She was so rarely at a loss for words.

"Dextro- and levo-based. He can eat pretty much anything you put in front of you. He grew up eating what Mom and I did, though he always had to supplement nutrient content. You know what I happened when I _once_ tried some of Dad's dextro-based food?" She shook her head weakly. This interview had not gone the way she had expected. "I went into anaphylactic shock. Almost died. And all I did was take two lousy bites! And that asshole goes to dinner with us all the time at human restaurants and _nothing."_

Ms Wong's bemused expression said it all.

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> Really short chapter exploring Jason Shepard a little more. This directly references my story "Shepard's Son". I really like the idea of Garrus and Shepard adopting, particularly the idea of them adopting a human and a turian son. But again, the idea wasn't mine. It's just something that I saw in "The Hundred Year Distance" (which is really good and I highly recommend you read it if you haven't already) and the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. As for the name Remus, it in no way foreshadows any sort of problems between the brothers. I just like the name Remus. Also, Romulus was kind of a dick.


	3. Training

**Training**

Jason dragged his feet as he headed towards the cargo hold. He was _not_ looking forward to spending the day with Miranda. It's not like he didn't enjoy her company. She was nice enough and it was great watching his mom and Joker tease her. And she was hot, but the young teenage boy tried to push that thought out of his head. But they were at the Citadel, and he preferred to be out and about checking out the shops. And most likely getting into trouble. But getting out of it was half the fun, right?

The cargo bay doors opened and he sauntered inside, hands deep in his pockets and a frown etched on his brow.

"You're late, Vakarian."

"Yeah well..." he struggled to find a good reason. Then he just shrugged. Miranda would see through his bs anyway. "So," he clapped his hands together, "let's get started."

Miranda was still sorting through some crates, a datapad in her hand. He assumed she was doing some inventory. Now he saw why she'd agreed to tutor him - anything would be more interesting than going through supply crates.

"Actually," she finally looked up to gage his reaction, "we'll get started as soon as Isabelle gets here."

He tried not to make a face. He really did. He'd known Izzy since he'd come to this life on the Normandy. They didn't see each other often, but whenever there was a large crew get together, she'd be there. And inevitably, they'd have to spend time together because there were only so many crew kids.

Though technically, Izzy wasn't a "crew kid." She was Miranda's niece.

"Is that a problem?"

Jason still looked like he'd smelt something rotten. "No..."

She raised an eyebrow and put her hands on her hips. He knew that look. He'd seen Miranda give that look to his mom and dad. And every time, they'd sigh, roll their eyes and give in.

"Izzy is... nice... and all... I guess..."

"But?" she prompted when he didn't continue.

"Well..." Was there a nice way he could phrase this? "She can be kinda full of herself and cocky like you how Mom says you used to be." Crap. He really shouldn't have added that last part. "Sorry," he added a little belatedly.

But instead of being upset, she just looked amused. "You certainly take after your father."

"Why? Because I have to stick my foot in my mouth on a regular basis?"

"Something like that." There was an awkward silence for a minute. He assumed she was letting him stew in his embarrassment. "It's not being 'full of yourself' if it's all true. Your mother, for example, could be considered that way, but she is everything her reputation makes her out to be. That being said," she paused again for effect, "I would happen to agree about Isabelle." Jason was sure his surprise was written all over his face. "I will of course deny ever saying that if you ever bring it up to my niece."

Miranda went back to the crates.

Jason's shoulders slumped when he realized they wouldn't be able to get started until Izzy showed up, and that girl always take her damn time like the whole universe was waiting for her to grace them with her presence. Add that to the things that annoyed him about her. Right under the fact that she used to have a crush on him when they were seven.

"So is there a reason why Mom won't train me in biotics herself?"

Miranda looked at him like he was an idiot. Or like she was incredibly insulted. Probably both. "The Commander is an exceptional fighter. There is no one better suited to train you in most forms of combat. However, Shepard's biotic abilities are limited to those she gained after being brought back by Cerberus. And while being able to lift your enemies into the air and slam into the ground with enough force to kill them is _undeniably_ Shepard's style, the rest of us need to learn a little more finesse and control. And of course, your parents are well aware that I am one of the best – if not _the_ best – human biotics. Which is why _I_ will be handling all of your biotics training from this point forward."

_Remember Jason - It's not arrogant if it's all true,_ he thought sarcastically.

Which was, of course, when Izzy walked into the cargo bay. She stopped short when she saw that Jason was there but had the good graces not to look _too_ put out.

Jason muttered a greeting and waved halfheartedly. He was too busy rehearsing the whining he was going to do later on when his parents got back to the ship and only made the minimal effort required to be polite. Izzy nodded in acknowledgement and walked over.

Miranda finished with the crate, not giving more than a glance at her niece or even a smile.

_Good,_ Jason thought. _She's not going to play favorites._

"So," she finally said, putting down the datapad and turning to the two gangly teenagers, "shall we get started?" Both kids nodded. "Now, this is something you'll probably appreciate, Jason. I believe this is how you went through most of your combat training."

Izzy had no idea what her aunt was talking about. "Huh?"

It took Jason a couple seconds to process what she had just said and the implications of it. _My combat training?_ His face paled.

"Oh shit-" he said, rushing towards Izzy and slamming her into the ground.

"Ow! Jase! What the fuck!" She screamed as her back hit the ground - hard - and she immediately tried to push him off her. But the asshole was pushing both of them flat against the ground. She was about to yell at him to get off, and then kick his ass, when she noticed the blue biotic energy dissipating where she had been standing.

"Oh…" was all she managed as Jason pulled her up and pushed her behind the nearest crate just in time to avoid the next attack.

Izzy fell to her knees and looked absolutely stunned. Jason, however, immediately put his back to the crate and reached for his pistol. Then he realized he didn't have one. Then he cursed. A lot.

"What the hell is going on?" Izzy hissed when she regained her composure.

Jason ignored her as he snuck a glance around the crate. He pulled back instantly when he saw the next blue wave shoot towards him. Shit. Miranda was – thankfully, slowly – approaching their position.

"Alright," he said as he took in the layout of the cargo bay. He cursed himself for not doing this earlier when he'd first come in. "I'm going to try and sneak around to flank her and slam her. I want you to distract her. She's less likely to go full force on you." Jason silently acknowledged that that was probably a lie. But Izzy didn't need to know that.

"Distract her? How?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. There's lots of crates and boxes – throw them at her with your biotics? Put her in a field to slow her down? Do whatever you're good at." He waved a hand at her dismissively. He was already inching towards the far edge of the crate, ready to make a run to the next one.

Which was why he didn't see the girl blush. "Jason, I've never really had any sort of biotic training except in school. I've never had to actually _attack_ someone in a fight…"

He looked at her blankly. There were a whole lot of words in there he didn't understand. Never had training? Never attacked someone? Never in a fight?

This time he did see the pink spread across her cheeks. "I don't _know_ what I'm good at."

This really threw a kink in his plans. Jason found himself missing his brother. Remus might annoy the hell out of him, but he could always trust him to cover his six. "Well… can you dodge?"

Her mouth dropped. "_Are you seriously expecting me to just go out there and dodge biotic attacks until you get around to attacking!"_

_Hmm. That was really high-pitched._

"You'll be fine. Just do whatever comes naturally." _Which will hopefully be __**attacking**__._ "Even if you miss, that's fine. We're just worrying about a distraction."

She'd gotten over her crush years ago. Or so she told herself. But her heart beat a little faster as he reassured her and then bravely rushed away. She could admire how composed he was without thinking about how cute it was. Right?

Trying to buy him some time, she went out the other way to confront Miranda head-on. Unfortunately, she'd miscalculated how close her aunt would be.

"Shit!" she yelled as she dodged an attack. Barely. The peripheral force of the blow had hit her left foot. She ignored the pain and tried to slam the older woman. And missed. By a lot. Crap.

Izzy dodged and tried a couple more times, trying to keep track of Jason's movements but she'd lost him almost immediately. All of her attacks either went wildly off to the side or up to the ceiling.

"You need to try and stay calm, Isabelle." Miranda edged closer. "If I were an actual enemy, you'd be knocked out or dead by now."

_How is that helping me stay calm!_ she wanted to yell, but realized her aunt was right. She took a deep breath and carefully aimed her charge…

Only to have it completely blocked by Miranda's barrier. The girl fell to the side, stunned by the two powers meeting.

She rubbed her head and looked over at her aunt, whose face was expressionless as she eyed the dazed girl. This was, of course, when Jason decided to come out and attack.

Unfortunately for Jason, he fought too much like his mother. Which meant that Miranda was expecting him.

Before he could even charge up his biotics, she turned on him and put him in a stasis field. He felt that horribly uncomfortable numbness and heaviness that he never got over and mentally threw the worst expletives he could think of at her. At least it helped him feel less embarrassed.

When the stasis field dissolved, Miranda didn't give him any time to recover. She immediately slammed him into the ground with enough force to nearly knock him out. Though not enough to keep him from cursing like the good military brat he was.

Even with both kids on their asses, Miranda felt the test had been successful. "Alright. Let's try it again. Isabelle, I want you to focus on your charge – that was the one thing you could actually aim. Jason, let's work on your barrier. I already know you can slam people."

He made a face as he craddled his ribs, but he got up and then helped pull Izzy to her feet. This was going to be a long day...

It seemed like an eternity later when the two slowly made their way up to the CIC. Miranda had stayed behind to clean up some of the broken containers. And Jason was suspicious that she probably wanted to two to "bond" over their shared suffering.

_Nothing brings two people together more than being repeatedly beaten by a common enemy._ Even though he'd meant it to be sarcastic, he thought about him and his brother and their mutual training exercises and realized that maybe it _did_ help.

He said good-bye to Izzy and walked her to the Rapid Transit terminal. And he tried not to grimace when she said she'd see him tomorrow for more practice. But he did admit to himself that his annoyance had more to do with not wanting to have Miranda kick his ass again.

"So how'd it go, kiddo?" his mom asked him later that night over dinner.

Remus gave him a smug look. He had never been so happy not to be a biotic as when he found out his older brother was going to have to train with Miranda.

"Great," he muttered as he pushed some food around on his plate.

"Looking forward to going back tomorrow?" His dad this time. Garrus at least was doing a better job at hiding his amusement. Probably because he could empathize with having prolonged exposure to Miss Lawson.

Jason thought about it a minute. "Yeah. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." Then he grinned and gave his brother a look. "Anything that gives me an edge over Reme here in a fight."

His brother nearly dropped his fork in terror at the very idea.

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> I feel terrible for not giving Remus more attention so far, though I do plan on talking about his origin in the next chapter. I also will be bringing Garrus and Shep in more.

To those of you who read my ridiculous drivel, thank you. I personally am not a fan of OCs, but I'm really just having too much fun with Jason and Remus to _not_ write about them. Even so, feel free to tell me what you think of their characters or my characterization of Garrus and Shepard as parents.


	4. Remus

**Remus**

Garrus sighed. He knew that look in Shepard's eyes. It had been there when she brought Jason back to the ship the first time. The look of her heart melting mixed with that determination he saw in her on the battlefield.

It was the look of inevitability.

He knew what she was going to ask. She'd be nice enough to ask, but it was already decided in her mind. And really, seeing the young turian, curled up in a ball with a blanket and Shepard's arms wrapped around him, Garrus knew there was no place the boy belonged more.

- Ten Hours Prior -

The Normandy was in orbit of some small, backwater planet in turian space. They had been on their way back to the Citadel when they'd intercepted a distress call from a colony. The distress call was very basic – no details about the colony or the situation were given. But Shepard was never one to turn down a challenge or her back on people in need.

EDI had tracked down the source of the transmission, but from orbit they couldn't get a conclusive reading on any turian life signs (or any other for that matter).

"Up for a fieldtrip?" Shepard asked him with a grin.

"Landing on a planet with no idea of what we're up against without even being sure there are any survivors to rescue?" He loved the look she gave him whenever he was sarcastic. Somewhere between exasperated and amused. "Sure. Can't be any worse than the other places you've dragged me to over the years."

And he loved the smile she gave him every time he said he'd follow her blindly wherever she might lead.

They left Jason with Joker – who was _not_ amused with having the seven-year-old poking around in the cockpit. But it was either that or Mordin. The rest of the crew was, unfortunately, still on the Citadel waiting to be picked up. While Jason might be able to mess up some of the Normandy's systems, EDI could help counteract anything that got past Joker. In the lab, Mordin was just as likely to encourage as discourage the boy if he started playing with the equipment or chemicals.

It did provide Shepard and Garrus some comfort to know their son was safe on the Normandy, even if it was in Joker's questionable and reluctant care.

It was a complete bloodbath. The entire colony was in ruin. Flames engulfed half the buildings, bodies were everywhere. But even though they counted at least two dozen bodies, that would only account for less than a fifth of the colony's population.

Shepard crinkled her nose and brought her hand up to try and block the smell of burning flesh. Guess that was something that turians and humans shared. They absolutely reeked. "Slavers?"

Garrus was squatting over a body, pushing the ash around it with the butt of his rifle. "Probably, though I didn't think there was much of a market for turian slaves. Most people want human or asari." He stood up and faced her. "Any life signs?"

The chances of anyone being left alive in this shithole was unlikely. The slavers looked like they had been pretty thorough. She took a deep breath and started up her omni-tool. It wouldn't hurt to look. Whatever they found, they could report to the Hierarchy. And she couldn't leave without knowing she'd made every possible effort to help the people here. Even if it was too late.

To their combined surprise, there was a continuous beep after the program powered up. The rhythm of a heartbeat.

"Spirits, someone is still _alive_?" Garrus didn't want to see what kind of state a survivor of _this_ would be in. If they were lucky, they were unconscious and wouldn't remember a damn thing. Relatively lucky, anyway.

"Yeah…" She tried to keep her voice steady. He could see his own concerns reflected in her eyes. "About sixty meters northwest of here."

They moved together silently through the wreckage. Even though they couldn't detect any other living creatures, Garrus still looked nervously from side to side, his talon dancing on the trigger of his gun. When it came to protecting his mate, he didn't trust any machine unless it was his scope and his rifle.

Eventually the steady, but slow, beat led them to a small structure that had obviously been a home. The front entrance had collapsed, but to the right of where the door once stood was a large gaping hole that still smoldered at the edges. Shepard cautiously stepped inside, pistol in hand. While it was unlikely one of the attackers was left behind, the possibility was enough to have her on edge. Garrus followed, rifle up and ready to fire at the first sign of trouble. Though he sincerely hoped he wouldn't have to use it.

In what was once the kitchen, all of the furniture had been smashed to bits. A pile of ashes and bones lay near the entrance. Incendiary rounds. On unarmed civilians. Fuckers.

They continued into the back room, which was a small bedroom. A dead turian lay with his back against the far wall. His tongue dangled out of his mouth, his eyes were still slightly open, his legs were sprawled out in front of him, and his body was slouched to one side. The hole in his chest and the blue blood staining the floor around him made it clear he'd been shot at close range – multiple times. But he didn't seem to have put up a struggle. And it didn't look like he'd fallen against the wall. It looked like he'd been there already when they shot him.

"Shepard?" Garrus prompted, slightly sickened by the sight before him. This was the kind of crap that made his blood boil. Asshole slavers or mercs or whoever the fuck it was, coming and ruining people's lives for their own profit or entertainment. And there was nothing he or anyone else who gave a damn could do about it. He was nearly choking on the bile rising in the back of his throat.

Shepard looked at her omni-tool and frowned. The heartbeat was coming from less than three meters away. Hell, as far as she could tell, it was coming from the man in front of them on the floor. She shook her arm and flicked the user interface. But no, she _was_ reading it right.

She stared at the turian and tried to make sense of it. Why was there a heartbeat? Why had that turian _chosen_ this spot to die? What possible motive could he have?

And then she realized the only motive _she'd_ have.

"Help me move him."

"What? Why?"

"Just help me."

Together they lifted the body and put him on the bed. Shepard closed his eyes and covered him with a blanket. Garrus didn't understand why humans always did that with their dead. Close the eyes, cover the body. It was strangely ritualistic in a way he didn't understand.

"Now help me look." Shepard had turned back to the wall, covered with blue.

"What exactly are we looking for, Shepard?" He edged closer to the wall, not seeing anything besides a bloody mess. He was starting to think her omni-tool was malfunctioning. There was nothing _left_ in this room. He was going to say as much when she started rubbing her hands through the still moist blood on the wall. "Shepard!" was all he managed to say in his surprise.

She ignored him as she let her fingers trail the wall, letting them feel for any irregularities in the surface. Soon she found what appeared to be a small button towards the floor. She struggled for a minute to push it – it was clearly designed for the tip of a talon and not the more blunt end of her human digits – but eventually hit it just right.

A small hatch opened and slid out of sight, revealing a dark room, probably no more than a few feet tall and wide. And there, in the farthest corner, was a small lump, trembling.

"Don't go in there-!" she heard Garrus call as she crawled in. She ignored him and forced her way to the small lump. She had to crouch down uncomfortably to do so, but she ignored the pain in her back.

"Hey there," she whispered, slowly reaching a hand out to touch the small creature on the shoulder. The contact made him twitch and then shake more violently. "Shhhh, it's okay. It's okay."

She could feel Garrus' eyes on her. Could feel his shock by how tense his body had become behind her. But he wasn't her priority right now. The small, terrified turian child was.

Her heart had nearly broken when she'd first found Jason two years ago. The wild and cautious look in his eyes as he struggled to make himself invisible. His wasted frame and grime covered limbs. The torn clothes that were too small and too filthy. The bruises and cuts where those bastards had laid hands on him.

Physically, this child was in much better shape. Well fed. Well cared for. Well loved. Until this morning. Now he was hiding in this room, his dead father not ten feet away and his incinerated mother in the next room.

Shepard couldn't help the tears that welled in her eyes as she hugged the boy from behind. "Everything's going to be okay. I promise. I won't let anything hurt you."

- Now -

She'd whispered to him all the way back to the shuttle, held him close and covered his eyes as they went through the remains of his home town. The only world the boy knew. Cradled him in her arms as he slept on the shuttle ride back.

Garrus had just watched, was still just continuing to watch. He hadn't said two words together since they'd found the boy.

He'd done his research while Shepard had comforted the child. Looked up the colony in the database. From a population of 132 to 1 to none in less than twelve hours. The boy had been born there. Remus Clerimum.

His mandibles twitched slightly in amusement. Remus Vakarian soon enough, he'd wager.

And in the end, he thought that was something he could live with.


	5. Interlude: Boys Will be Boys

**Interlude: Boys Will Be Boys**

There were about twelve of them. More or less. Twelve "crew" kids in the hangar, left to entertain themselves while their parents were upstairs getting drunk in the mess and celebrating the anniversary of when they'd finally defeated the Reapers. Or something.

But Izzy hadn't gotten time to count or even talk to the other kids when the fight broke out. So that's how the ten of them ended up standing there, totally aghast, while the 14 year old human boy and the 11 year old turian boy went at it.

_Idiots,_ Izzy couldn't help but think.

Jason was being a jerk, which he was prone to be if he was showing off, which of course he was because he was absolutely head over heels for Jacob's daughter (never mind that she was four years _older_ than him). He'd just kept going on and on… Really, it had made her and Remus both sick.

He was bragging about his combat and biotic skills (which were about the only talents he had, Izzy thought petulantly). And then whatever small amount of brains Jason had left went out the airlock.

"Really, I don't mind showing you. I'm sure Reme will be happy to help out. We'll set up a demonstration and I'll be happy to show you what the _real_ son of Jane Shepard can do-"

She was going to yell at him not to be such an ass. Her hands were on her hips and her mouth was already open, but before the words could come out there was a loud THUD that filled the hangar and resonated off the shuttles.

To be honest, no one was sure if that _thud_ was from Remus colliding with his older brother or from Jason's head hitting the ground.

The only person who didn't seem to be shocked by the tackle, the sudden display of aggression by the normally quiet turian, was Jason.

Needless to say, it had gone downhill from there.

Jason and Remus kept punching and kicking each other, rolling around on the floor and trying to gain the upper hand. Jason was older and still slightly bigger, but Remus' body was built for this type of fighting. Neither could gain a distinct advantage, though that didn't stop either boy from trying.

Izzy didn't want to think about how much trouble they'd _all_ get in if one of the boys ended up with a bloody nose or black eye. "You JERKS. STOP IT!" she had stepped forward to try and pull them off each other, but every time she reached in she immediately had to pull her hands back to keep from getting hit. "UGH!" she yelled, finally losing patience. She was still too young to have any real control over her biotics, so even she was surprised when the blew energy erupted from her and roughly pushed the boys about ten feet apart from each other.

She thought it would be over then, but Remus immediately went into a fighting stance. She looked to Jason pleadingly, but he was just smiling wickedly.

"Good idea, Izzy," he said and then charged up his own biotics.

"THAT'S CHEATING!"Remus yelled as he was forced to dodge out of the way of a couple well placed attacks. "NO BIOTICS!"

Jason just kept grinning. And then Remus growled and pulled off his gloves and boots, throwing them to the side. The other kids were completely confused, but the look of horror on Jason's face said that maybe he knew the significance.

"HEY, NO TALONS-" but then he was on his back again and there was a long line down his cheek.

And to Izzy's utter horror, the boys went back to wrestling, now with the combined effect of biotics and turian talons. And she was pretty sure she saw Tali's daughter placing a bet with Alenko's son. Great. Absolutely no backup on this one.

It took another three full minutes before EDI appeared at the door of the hangar. "Children. Commander Shepard is on her way down to investigate the use of biotics. I suggest you cease your current activities."

Jason and Remus immediately froze. They looked at each other in terror before pushing off the ground and trying to dust off their clothes. Jason tried to straighten his hair and Remus only managed to get his boots on when their mother walked in.

All the children there had grown up hearing about the legend that was Jane Shepard. Somehow all the first-hand stories their parents had told them made her seem even larger than life than the vids did. Knowing that she had saved their mom or dad's life on multiple occasions would probably do that to a kid. So seeing her come into the hangar, even if it was just in her civvies, left them all awestruck.

Shepard smiled at the kids, raised on eyebrow at Izzy's still horrorstruck face, and then frowned when she saw the state of her boys.

And just like that, Jane Shepard dissolved into Commander Shepard. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Report."

Both just pointed to the other and said, "He started it."

"Izzy?"

While she wasn't _thrilled_ about being put in the middle, she understood Shepard's motives. She was the most familiar with the boys' antics since they all lived at the citadel. And she was brutally honest to the point where she wouldn't lie to protect _either_ of them. "Well... Remus _was_ the first to attack."

At that, Jason stuck up his middle finger at the other boy. He always knew he liked Izzy.

"But... Jason was being _very_ rude and verbally abusing Remus."

_Fuck that, I never liked her,_ he thought. Remus stuck his tongue out at him. It was annoying enough of a gesture from a human, but seeing that long, serpentine tongue was just off-putting.

Shepard crossed her arms and seemed to think it over. "Vakarians. 50 laps around the hangar." When they just stood there gapping at their _totally_ unfair (deserved) punishment, Shepard growled before shouting, "Move out, soldiers!"

The rest of the kids were speechless as the older boys began running, starting at the large double doors. Shepard seemed amused by their reactions. Apparently this sort of military upbringing was not the way her former crew was conditioning their kids. Slackers. "Let this be a lesson to you kids," she said half-jokingly. She wasn't sure what the lesson they were learning was. Don't fight your brother... or don't piss her off. She mentally shrugged. Both very important lessons.

"Izzy, I expect you to make sure the boys follow through and complete their laps."

"Yes, ma'am." While most kids would have felt like this was a punishment, Izzy beamed with pride at being chosen for this responsibility. Shepard grinned slightly as she couldn't help but be reminded of Miranda.

"Well, I'm going to head back up to the party. I'll see you kids later." When she walked out the doors, she waved and called out "Play nice!" for good measure. As they shut behind her, the boys finished their first lap and called out "One!" in unison.

The kids watched Jason and Remus in silence for a couple minutes. Izzy couldn't help but think how stupid they were being. Fifty laps and they seemed to be sprinting - going all out. They'd be exhausted before they were halfway done. Why the hell would they-

"UGH!" she yelled in disgust, surprising everyone else. "They're _racing_."

The brothers tried not to laugh.


End file.
